Exercise of the Day: Floor Switch Kicks

Fans of the Insanity Workout with Shaun T will be familiar with floor switch kicks. This exercise is amazing for working your triceps, back, and your abdominals, as well as a cardio blast because it is quite demanding!

Don't worry if you cannot do this exercise very quickly at first. You can build up your strength to a fast kicking movement. It is better to do the exercise slowly and with control than to risk form!!!





1-Sit on the ground, your knees bent in front of you, your feet flat on the ground with your ankles directly under your knees. Place your palms directly in line with your elbows and shoulders, your fingers pointing towards your feet.

2-Push into your palms and feet and raise your hips off of the ground. Be sure to keep knee and ankle alignment and wrist, elbow, and shoulder alignment. Keep your chest raise to avoid rounding your back.

3-Engage your lower abs and kick your right leg as straight up in the air as you can.

4-As you lower your right leg back to the ground, kick your left leg as straight up as possible (this is a fast movement. If you cannot do this quick switch in the legs it is completely okay. Simply lower your right leg to the ground and as soon as it touches, then kick your left leg. You can build up to fast kicking movement!)

Repeat this alternating kick movement for 1 minute. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat!

ENJOY!!

Healthy Tip of the Day: Estimate Your Heart Rate Max and Target Heart Rates

So often I have clients ask what their maximum heart rate should be. There are multiple ways to calculate this, but sometimes they just want an easy answer, right then and there, for a general idea.

Here's a quick way to check yourself:

Subtract your age from 220. This is about the maximum amount of heart beats per minute your heart can handle during exercise.

When you are participating in low-intensity exercises, you want your heart rate to be about 50 to 60 percent of your heart rate max. So, take the result of 220-your age and multiply it by .50 or .60 for this target heart rate.

For moderate exercise, you want your heart rate between 60 and 80 percent: 220-your age multiplied by .60 or .80.

For high intensity workouts, your target heart rate is 90 percent of your heart rate max. So, 220-your age multiplied by .90.

It is especially important to be aware of your heart rate during bouts of exercise during this extremely hot summer that we are experiencing. And, as always, HYDRATE!!!!!!!!

ENJOY!!

Healthy Snack of the Day: Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Hello! This recipe comes courtesy of A Full Measure of Happiness Blog. Peanut Butter Banana Muffins are good hit at the beginning of the day or for a mid-morning snack because of the good protein you will be consuming. Pretty easy to make, and most of the ingredients are standard pantry items, so you can make them on the cheap!

Photo from A Full Measure of Happiness Blog

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas (mashed)
1/3 cup honey (I used agave nectar)
1/3 cup peanut butter (go for natural)
2/3 cup fat free yogurt (I used Greek yogurt for the added health benefits, and cause I like the taste)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I add a little more, because I love cinnamon)
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
(I added 2 tsp of flaxseed for the additional fiber benefits and cut out the 1/4 tsp of salt)


1-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line or use oil and flour on your muffin tins.
2- Mix the bananas, honey, peanut butter, yogurt and vanilla. Set aside.
3-Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.
4-In thirds, slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
5-Spoon the mixture evenly throughout the 12 muffin cups.
6-Bake in the oven for 15 minutes on the center rack.

ENJOY!